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Courts give Akhtar a reprieve

Principal Correspondent

Shoaib is technically available for selection
Will have to prove his fitness first

Karachi: Shoaib Akhtar might well play for Pakistan in the immediate future. A Lahore High Court suspended Shoaib’s 18-month ban that was earlier imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board, following the speedster’s disparaging remarks about the game’s administrators in his country.

It may be recalled that Shoaib was initially banned for a period of five years in a damning punishment meted out by the PCB on April 1. Later after the ban was reduced to 18 months, Shoaib filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the ban and the verdict issued at Lahore on Friday, stayed the ban until a final judgement is issued later this year after the summer break.

With the ban being suspended for the time being, Shoaib is technically available for selection though the chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed added a conditional clause. “We will monitor Shoaib’s fitness, primarily match fitness before we take a decision on him,” Salahuddin said.

In contention

Shoaib will be in contention for a place in the squad when Pakistan hosts New Zealand for three ODIs in August and then the much-debated ICC Champions Trophy here in September. However there is a cloud of uncertainty over these matches due to security concerns.

Former cricketers greeted Shoaib’s temporary reprieve with a mix of guarded optimism and excessive delight. Rameez Raja said: “I am neutral on this whole issue because I am not fully aware of the details of this judgement. Yes I would agree that Pakistan needs both Shoaib and Mohammad Asif but first they have to behave themselves.”

Aamir Sohail welcomed the development . “It was on the cards. The ban was not valid and the constitution does not allow this. I mean, how can you stop someone from earning his bread and butter. Now that Shoaib has got some relief, my advice to him is to focus on his fitness and get back to the team. His comeback has also got popular demand,” Sohail said.

Wasm Akram meanwhile stressed that fitness should be the crucial factor in Shoaib’s probable recall. “If the court has allowed the ban to be stayed and the selectors are keen, first Shoaib has to prove his fitness. He hasn’t played much except for the IPL and we need to know his match fitness before he is selected,” Akram said.

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